Mechanical peel



May 18, 194s. C. E. FQERSTER 2,441,806

MECHANICAL PEEL Filed July l1, 1944 Bnvenfor C424 E. F0525 795g Iii' u CttornegS Patented May i8, i943' o N 1 TE D s frATfErs PAT' EN f MHNICL'TL YCarl EFoerster. Salt LakeCity, Utah Apisiicatin :nity 11, 1944, 'serial-Na 54H31 This invention, Vin a somewhat :restricted sense, relates 'to l`a mechanical peel frplacingafplurality of vbakery items simultaneously on alb'aki'ng hearth. In a broader sense it relates tofa'de-vi-ce for simultaneously vplacing fa plurality of articles on asurface.

. frame im fsb et y ay be 'moved rrelfy fand gained invariance herein. 'frneframezm an supper position as-snown -m niggaaanuaiower position;asisnewnlmnigfs. v

Y amending :from Asite "to fsm@ fief ane frame 42 y are a series of article-spiiting felenientsinthe form 6ff b1adespreferab1yarrangedinirairsfeach pair comprising individua :blades SH and Ha. Each lblade fis supported or hinged 1in 'the y:fname 'mffor iexaniple 'by Ar'neans f of two journal :exteni sions l Saiirangedtoffswing incorrespondin'gibear'- thel items yto'be Abaledare deposited simultaneously over the entire area of the hearth. According*'to the invention, Ithe AmechanicalYloeel fco'rnprises a series of depressibl'elor retractiveibla'desyadvantageously arranged inlpai'rs, 'which extend `vclear across one -dimensionof the peel.V 'The mechanical peel is suitably'supported'so vthat it *canfbe pushed bodily into the Aoven l and al1 'the fblad'es be simultaneously depressed,whereup'onfeachfpair of blades 'discharges itsfload-uponfthe hearth.

The principalobjeotsof "thelinventionfare:

To reduce to a '-'ininiirum fthe time 'and labor required to charge a baking hearth.

To make unnecessarythe -exposure of a'bakr to the intense heat Ofiahearthffor"'anyeonsidrable period oftime,thusielieving-himof thehaird and health-impairing YWork of charging the hearth. Y

To place alarge number of individual 1i-tems simultaneously.incertain de'siredositions in one operation.

To `be simple and effective in use,

To be relatively -inexpensivefto construct.

One embodiment of the riv'ention'sillustated in the accompanying draWin'g-'in-which,

Fig.` 1 represents a plan, partlyfin section onthe line l-l in`Figf2 :portionsbeinglbrokenawayifor convenience; L L Y Fig. '2, aside elevation, AL'Sartl'y in-section,'=taken on the line 2f-2 in Fig. "1, 'portions Ybeing broken away for convenience;

vFiggli, a view *similarfto that of ffFig. 2, `but showing certain parts in alternateipositionm"and,

Figs. '4 and' 5, fragm'entarir sections taken respectively on'the lines 4-"4 and-f5;5- in Fig.\f3;- the sections being taken through :the farlsidewalrls'fof the device. Y V

*Referring tor then drawingfthe numerals li' and i2 denote twofframes, -both open fat the ltopf'and bottom, the frame I'Zbeing loosely disposed l"Within tol-pass between them Lwhen isuchlitem'siare to .be discharged fand 'depositati `forz example-in .a baking Lheal'rth i 1. It is ldesir-able 'that .the sadjacent blades "of fany tW-o 'pairs ihave ftheir'aaxes substantially lp'arallel to leach other :and be plac'ed quite closely "itogether yisoas to economize thefspace-.in a direction transverse of the blades. This ris clearly@ illustrated in fFigs. k'1,2 fandf3. In Fig. Z2 the 'blades `are shown :in `a position adapted to receive 'fand hold their -loa"d,rfwhi1ein Fig. f3, tlie position "of 'the blades shown depressed orlifetracted, 'fthe load iin the `meantime 'having 'been discharged.

, provided, which may' extend -frorn "various p'oirits such-as i9, `along kfthe lsi'des Tfarand "|1211 'lof the in bearings 24 rigidly mounted on the frame I2, in this instance near the end portions thereof. Rigidly mounted at the extremities of each shaft is an arm 25, which at the free end thereof carries a rotatably disposed wheel or roller 26. Rigidly connected to each arm 25 is another arm 21, the respective arms 21 being pivotally connected to each other by means of a connecting rod 28. Rigidly connected to one of the arms 25, such as the one at the lower left hand corner of Fig. 1, is another arm 29, the latter having an opf erating rod 3l) pivotally connected to it at 3l. By

moving the rod 30 in the direction of the arrowin Fig. 2, the traction wheels or rollers 26 are moved mutually outward in opposite directions,

whereupon the frame I2 is gradually lowered un til the position in Fig. 3 is reached. Conversely,

when the rod is moved in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 3, the wheels or rollers are moved mutually inward from the position in Fig. 3 to the position in Fig. 2, whereupon the frame I2 is lifted relatively to the frame IIJ. It is desirable that the rollers 26 on a side move in opposite directions in order to obviate binding stresses between the frames I and I2. Y

- The links I8 and Ia and the pins I9 are preferably disposed in both the side rails I2a and I2b, although in some cases satisfactory operation is obtained by placing the links and pins in only one side rail. In order to protect the links I8 and I8a,'it is desirable that the lower portions of the side rails Vbe deeply grooved, Vas clearly indicated at 32 in Fig. 4, thereby providing the depending and shielding lobes 34 and 34a, spaced apart from each other. In each lobe is a bearing for the pivotal pin I9 so that the links hang between the two bearings. rIhis construction has the effect of placing the pin in what is known as double shear and results in much smootherroperation and greater durability than is the case in constructions where such a pivotal pin is in single shear. This is important since a mechanical peel in an average bakery is generally usedl hundreds of times a day. Furthermore, in order that the links I8 and ISa shall hang substantially vertical in the respective plane of swinging, the peel blades extend from side rail to side rail of the stationary frame III so that the end portions of the nger edges of the peel blades, where the links I8 and I8a are fastened to the respective blades, are located directly underneath the respective side rails of the movable frame I2.

Since wood, as illustrated in the cross-sections wise an important object of the invention,

namely, saving operators from enervating heat conditions, would be nullied.

The disposition of the blades I4 and I4a in "pairs to move in mutually opposed directions f from the supporting to the non-supporting positions, insures a substantially balanced descending action upon items that may be discharged from the blades,.soY thatthe items are guided quite accurately'to their resting places on a surface and of the figures, or some other non-heat absorbing material, provides advantages in the construction and operation of the apparatus of the in vention, and since the peelblades are unsupported in the span between the journal bearings I6, the peel blades each have a heavy journal edge for supporting the load, and a light nger edge to facilitate handling the load.

The manner of using the device of the invention will now be described. First, supposingthe mechanical peel tobe resting in a location apart from the hearth upon which it is used, the blades being in the 'holding position of Figs. 1 and 2. In the said location, free from the heat of the hearth, the peel is loaded with items such, for example, as rolls 40. Next, the loaded peel is transferred bodily to its unloadingposition on a hearth, indicated for example at 31, Fig. 2. After a moments pause, the user actuates the operating mechanism to retractA the blades I4 and Ma, thus instantly depositing by gravity, the entire plurality of items, as indicated at 40a, Fig. 3, on

alonga line substantially midway of the blades. This also insures a gentle and controlled impact of vfragile items such as bakery goods Vof soft dough upon a hearth. A stop to prevent overtravel may be suitably located, for example, a pin at 35.

Frequently the device of the invention'may be used to pick up simultaneously a plurality of items, Vespecially in cases where the items have previously been deposited or placed byV means of the same device. For picking up items, it is generally desirable that the free edges of the blades be brought quite closerto a hearth I'Ia, substantially as shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

While a specific embodiment of the device of the invention is herein shown and described, this is to ybe considered illustrative only and not as limiting the invention other than by the scope imposed by the following claims.

1. A mechanical peel, including in combination, a frame having side rails adapted for placing'on, and for removal from, a baking hearth; a second frame having k side rails loosely disposed within the irst frame so as to have'lifting and retracting motions therein; Vitem-supporting blades pivotally mounted in the rst frame and extending unbrokenly from side rail to side rail of the rst-mentioned frame so that the end portions of the bladesjare located directly underneathY the side rails of the second-mentioned frame; motion-transmitting connections extending substantially vertically from the second frame to the end portions of the item-supporting blades at points spaced apart radially from the journal axis thereof; and mechanism operative to lift and retract the second frame.

42. A mechanical peelfaccording to claim 1, wherein the motion-transmitting connections comprise links pivotally secured to the second frame and pivotally secured to the end portions of the item-supporting blades inj'pro'ximity to the free edges thereof.

3. A mechanical peel including in combination, a frame adapted for placing on, and for removal from, a baking hearth; a second frame Vloosely disposed within the. rst frame so'as tohave Vlifting and retracting motions therein; itemsupporting blades pivotally mounted in the first frame;. motion-transmitting connections extendingfrom the second frame to the item-supporting blades; and mechanism operative tov lift and retractV the second frame, the" said'mechanism comprisingV shafts spaced apart from each other and rotatable in journals forming parts of the second frame;` arms` extending vfrom the said shafts; traction rollers rotatably disposed in'the free end-portions ofthe said arms; bearing portions disposed on the rst frame so as to coopcrate with the said traction rollers; and means for simultaneously imparting to the said shafts motion in directions opposed to each other.

4. A mechanical peel, comprising a stationary frame having side rails; another frame having side rails in spaced proximity to the first mentioned side rails and disposed for up-and-down motion Within said stationary frame; `a pair of oscillating peel blades extending unbrokenly from side rail to side rail of the stationary frame and so disposed that the end portions of the peel blades are directly under and in operative regis,- try with the respective side rails of the secondmentioned frame; linkage means directly under a side rail of the movable frame, said linkage means extending operatively from the end portion of a blade to the movable frame; and operating means effective to cause the movable frame to rise or descend.

5. A mechanical peel, comprising a stationary frame having side rails; another frame having side rails in spaced proximity to the first-mentioned side rails and Within the stationary frame; the second-mentioned side rails having depending spa-ced lobes disposed to accommodate a pivotal pin in Vdouble-shear relation; a pair of mutually oscillating blades extending unbrokenly Vfrom side rail to side rail of the stationary frame and so disposed that the end portions of the peel blades are located directly under the respective spaced lobes; linkage means extending from the end portions of the peel blades into the space between the said depending lobes; a pin extending in double-shear through the spaced lobes and the interposed linkage; and operating means effective to cause the movable frame to rise or descend.

6. A mechanical peel, comprising a stationary frame having side rails; another frame having side rails in spaced proximity to the iirst-mentioned side railsvand disposed to rise or descend relatively to, and Within, the stationary frame; a pair of spaced, mutually cooperating peel blades having paralleling near-to-each-other light finger edge-portions, and far-from-ea-ch-other heavy journal-edge portions, each peel blade being rotatable about its respective journal edgeportion in such a manner that the pair of peel blades mutually support or mutually discharge, as the case may me, certain bakery items, the said peel blades further, being of such length that the end portions thereof are located directly underneath the respective side rails of the movable frame; and linkage means connecting the finger edge-portions at the end portions of the respective peel blades, to the second-mentioned frame.

7. A mechanical peel, including in combination, a pair of blades made of substantially nonheat-absorbing material, each blade having a heavy journal edge-portion and a light finger edge-portion spaced apart therefrom, said edgeportions being connected to each other by a tapering, solid intermediate portion so the crosssection of the blade is given a solid, relatively slender, substantially V-shaped coniiguration; a frame in which said pair of blades is journaled with the nger edges thereof in relatively close, spaced, cooperative relation; and manipulating mechanism connected to each blade in proximity to the nger edge-portion thereof.

CARL E. FOERSTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 987,780 Weifenbacli Mar. 28, 1911 1,374,457 Lang Apr. 12, 1912 1,943,004 Coppage Jan. 9, 1934 2,232,578 Wetsch Feb. 18, 1941 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 22,721 Great Britain Oct. 5, 1912 

